


And There Was a Time Where I Stood in Line For Love

by cxhztile



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Comfort Food, Domestic Fluff, F/F, First Meetings, Genderbending, Love at First Sight, Married Life, Rule 63, Time Skips, abe's a bi disaster leave her alone, and i mean who wouldn't forget about the war because Hot Woman, but i'd be head over heels too though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cxhztile/pseuds/cxhztile
Summary: 14 October — Abraham is in York City under the guise of studying the law in order to gather intelligence but finds herself taken with a more interesting part of the city.
Relationships: Robert Townsend/Abraham Woodhull





	And There Was a Time Where I Stood in Line For Love

**Author's Note:**

> i am once again posting; do not expect more at present. anyway, i've been thinking about my wife (fem!rob) for two weeks straight and i wanted to write something longer or at least more in-depth but here we are

“—The desk in your room is big enough that it ought to suffice for your… _Intensive studies_.”

It was at that point she zoned back into what the innkeeper was saying to her— more so, _at_ her— and stopped focusing solely on remembering the count of soldiers she had seen while walking here or the way the stained glass windows on the wall behind the counter glistened in gorgeous iridescence. Shifting her gaze, she finally met the eye of the inn’s owner, noting their deep brown color, as well as the shapely eyebrows that laid languidly upon her brow, as if disinterested in speaking despite it being a necessity. Her guest tried not to glance at the freckles dotting her cheeks or the curl threatening to slip out from beneath her bonnet onto her forehead, nor the way her fichu was so neatly tucked into the top of her sable dress. The owner slightly leaned to one side to feel for the room’s keys beneath the countertop, not having to tilt very far on account of her long, presumably somewhat muscular, arms, and her patron averted her gaze once more as to not stare directly at any thin patches of linen draped across her chest, only looking back at the sound of the keys being slid across to her. 

“Right,” She cleared her throat, fighting the urge to pull at her tie, “Thank you.” 

“My pleasure.” The innkeeper retorted, flashing the smallest courteous smile she could appear to manage. 

Abraham shuffled up the stairs to her room as swiftly as she could, quickly unlocking and shutting the door behind her, pressing her back against it as her bag dropped unceremoniously to the floor. She had no clue as to why she felt the tips of her ears and the rounds of her cheeks begin to warm, but she wanted them to cool down before her entire face went red. Sure, the innkeeper _was_ beautiful but she had a more important mission to worry about than thinking of the gorgeous woman she was lodging from— especially because she was about to lose the additions to her soldier count if she didn’t write them down within the next minute or two. Besides, by law, she was a married woman, regardless of the fact that it _was_ just a marriage of convenience, and had no time to spare even a thought about courting another in a world where she had the ability to. 

She pulled the tab on her outer coat sleeve and rooted around its inner lining for her pencil, scratching out her first amount of the day and scribbling in the more correct one. It was barely midday, giving her plenty of time to slip out the back and walk the streets nearby from beginning to end, but she needed to overcome this flushing of her face first before she could bear to glance at the owner again, still unsure of what was coming over her. Realizing she was still pressed against the door, she hastily bent over and grabbed the handle of her pack, throwing it onto the bed and sitting beside it to dig out the supplies she needed for later— which reminded her that she was going to need eggs if she was going to try out Sackett’s new fangled invisible ink. It still seemed a ridiculous idea from what she imagined to be an even more ridiculous woman but Ben and Caleb, and more importantly _Washington_ , appeared to trust her and her solution enough to give the OK for testing, so all she could do was try her best with what she had and not question it too much.

She blinked at the objects resting in her hands before shaking her head and rising to her feet to set them in an inconspicuous formation on the desk, while also laying out the decoy law books she had brought in case she needed to sell the bit. After arranging her materials, she tapped her short nails on the cover of one of the books, half listening for the rich noise it made, but mostly contemplating her next move, as her extremities were returning to room temperature and her chest was untightening, meaning she could go scouting for more info if she so pleased. However, the disorder in her brain was making her eyelids droop in a “needing a moment of silence” kind of way, something she now experienced often after having become a mother. Promising herself only five minutes, ten at most, just to make the stinging behind her eyes dissipate, she laid beside her half unpacked tote and folded her hands over her chest as she closed her eyes, only to open them again at a time she was confused on but most certainly looked to be early evening. 

Sitting up, she sighed and picked the crust from her tear ducts, grumbling to herself about how much of the day she just wasted over what was meant to be a five minute shut-eye. Dusk didn’t exactly mean the soldiers were totally gone and, reasonably, darkness could be a good guise but any soldiers left hanging about were either on guard or loitering, which might not be as useful, especially in such a low light setting where it’d be difficult to make out figures and properly identify the number of them without being caught oddly skulking around. It was past supper so it’d be very unlikely that she’d be able to charm a restauranteur, or better yet the innkeeper, into producing her a meal but on the other hand, she had only crumbs left of what Aberdeen had packed her for an early lunch so there was little choice she had if she didn’t want to go (back) to bed hungry. Her waistcoat was beginning to feel tight around her chest again but she ignored it and slinked out of the room, careful to keep her steps quiet but not to the point of startling the owner once she reached the bottom of the stairwell— assuming she was still awake. 

“Mrs Woodhull?” came her voice as expected, freezing Abraham in place before her foot could reach the floor. 

“Hi.” Abraham sheepishly responded, putting her foot down and clasping her hands behind her back. 

“I thought you had gone to bed already,” The owner admitted, gently removing her cap, “Or perhaps— you were too caught up in your studies?”

“The latter, no doubt.” Abraham nervously chuckled.

“What might I do for you?”

“I know it’s a bit late, but I was wondering if I might be able to get a spot of dinner,” Abraham swallowed, “Anything works.”

“Of course,” The innkeep nodded, “You’ve already paid for it, after all.” 

She looked as though she was going to remove the pin securing a long auburn braid to the bottom of her skull but thought better of it, spinning around to look for what rations she still had lying around. Abraham drew closer, leaning against the counter separating them to peer in and caught a glimpse of what she might be making. Seeing the owner pull out a healthy portion of salt pork from a meat pot and start to dice several potatoes, she leaned on her elbow and placed her chin in her palm as her heart melted at the thought of being made salt pork hash, a dish she hadn’t had in ages and had begun dreaming of as of late. Her earlier pondering about the state of the innkeeper’s arms reigned true, lean biceps flexing through her sleeves as she worked the pork and potato mixture into patties with a binder of milk and fried them to what Abraham considered perfection. 

She almost didn’t waver as the innkeep stepped toward her with the patties on a plate and set it on the table nearest the counter, treading behind it again to retrieve a fork and pour a mug of ale. Abraham graciously took a seat before the plate but her eyes lingered on the other woman, particularly her tall, graceful stature, and the way her skirt flowed behind her as she walked. It was no time to daydream yet her mind was attempting to wander and even as she ate, she persistently looked over, although the owner wasn’t doing much, save cleaning the mess she had just made. Abraham’s eyelashes fluttered while watching her, as if this were a more dreamy situation than it was— which is what her heart was telling her. Towards the end of tidying up, the braid encapsulating the owner’s hair was set free and it swung about her shoulders, furthering Abraham’s forgetting her true purpose for being there but not being mad about it at present. 

“Was it alright?” The keep asked as the plate was virtually cleared, this time making _Abraham_ flinch at her abrupt appearance.

“ _Quite_ alright.” Abraham smiled, hesitating a moment before handing her the plate and finishing the last of her drink. 

“Wonderful. You had better rest, then, so you don’t exhaust yourself over those books.”

Abraham just nodded and gingerly pushed her chair back, dusting herself of crumbs, partly just to stay a moment longer. She took one final took at the owner for the night before excusing herself and sauntering back to her room. Her mind was flooded with only images of the innkeeper and there was no doubt she’d be dreaming of her. This was going to make her task a hundred times harder than it already was, but it would just have to be another secret that she kept. 

**— ➳♡ —**

“Robbie~ Good morning~”

Robert barely opened her eyes to look upon the face cooing at her and, after recognizing who it was, shoved them away and rolled onto her other side.

“Ten more minutes…” She groaned as she curled in on herself.

“Noooo, it’s time to get up, _my beautiful wife_.” Abraham snickered, scooting up behind her and cupping her chest. 

“It’s our anniversary,” She fussed, kissing down from Robert’s temple to her jaw, “I deserve at least one good morning kiss.” 

“ _No._ ” Robert growled, wrinkling her nose at the sensation of kisses instead of rejoicing. 

“So mean,” Abraham defeatedly sighed, placing her chin on the freckled shoulder nearest to her, “And to think I was going to repay you with breakfast in bed.” 

“Like when you never paid your bill?”

“Hush. You better be glad I was so smitten with you that I asked you to marry me in the first place.” 

“ _You_ hush…” Robert yawned, her feigned anger beginning to dissolve back into tiredness.

“I mean it,” Abraham countered, kissing her shoulder, “I was immediately taken with you the moment I saw you. And nearly kissed you for making me dinner that night.” 

Robert went quiet for a few minutes after that statement, leaving Abraham to fret that she had gone back to sleep, despite her half opened eyes staring blanking at the wall. There were very few times that she continued to get flustered about her feelings since getting married but now she was retracing her wording to see where it might have soured or otherwise gone wrong. As she began to query it, she slowly retracted herself, only to be caught by a hand leaning back to cup her cheek. 

“I was quite angry at you for a while when I was blind to the cause and for what you did to my mother,” Robert started, pausing as though she hadn’t thought the statement all the way through yet, “But, obviously, all is in the past and it is forgiven.” 

Abraham’s lashes fluttered as they had the night they met, looking at her with the same wonder, but this time having the look and marvel reciprocated. They hadn’t always been great to each other but desperate times called for desperate measures, and the war took a greater toll than they realized after it had ended. But now, all that matter was that they had worked out their past differences and were happy now, hoping to remain so in the future. Leaning over further, she pressed their lips together and was now met with an enthusiastic good morning kiss from a wife who seemed a little less grouchy and a little more lovey. They laid as such, expressing their love through generous kisses while running a hand through the other’s hair, until a knock on the door caused them to separate and rest their foreheads together with a deep exhale.

“She’s going to throw a fit if you don’t feed her.” Robert asserted, knowing that their daughter was unfortunately methodical about such things. 

“I know, I know,” Abraham laughed, resting a moment longer before pressing another kiss to her cheek and sitting up, “Coffee?”

“Please.”

Before Abraham could fully leave the bed to grab either of their discarded chemises, Robert lightly grabbed her wrist and met her eye with a tender stare. 

“Abraham,” She swallowed, “I love you. More than anything.” 

Abraham just grinned ear-to-ear before replying, “And _you_ are my everything.” 

**Author's Note:**

> yes i know the title doesn't fit exactly but i had gale song stuck in my head so... anyway, i hope this was alright


End file.
